THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The discontent in the Congress over the allotment of fifth minister to IUML spilled out into the open with the swearing-in of Manjalamkuzhi Ali on Thursday. Senior Congress leaders, including Aryadan Mohammed, who opposed the fifth berth to the Muslim League in the last KPCC meeting, launched a scathing attack on the state Congress leadership and abstained from the swearing-in ceremony.Other senior Congress leaders like V M Sudheeran, K Muraleedharan, T N Prathapan, V D Satheesan and Deputy Speaker N Shakthan were among those who kept away from the function in protest against the party going against the majority decision taken in the last KPCC meet on April 3 of not giving the fifth minister berth to the IUML.Congress leaders also did not hide their resentment over the party yielding to the pressure tactics of the IUML and keeping the Congress rank and file in the dark about the fifth ministership and the major changes in the portfolios.Though KPCC chief Ramesh Chennithala and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy tried to reach out to Congress leaders on Wednesday and Thursday to apprise them of the situation in which the Cabinet berth was given to IUML, it failed to pacify them.Power Minister Aryadan Mohammed, who had said earlier that if a fifth minister is allotted to the IUML, Oommen Chandy would be the last Congress Chief Minister to head the state, remarked on Thursday that the fifth ministership was given bypassing the KPCC decision.
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